The Devil of Doncaster

The Devil of Doncaster In 1614, Brian Cooke, ‘gentleman’ of Doncaster, complained to the Court of Star Chamber that Thomas Bevett, Original Bellamy, and twelve others, ten of them musicians, had defamed him. Motivated by “a long conceived and undeserved mallice” against him, the defendants, Cook claimed, conspired together to bring him into “disgrace, shame […]

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Flower of the Month: A Libelous Song in Court of Star Chamber

October’s Flower tells of a scandalous libel case from the villages of West Yorkshire. One of the main reasons that defamation—libel and slander—became an issue for the civil courts—was to punish those who would undermine the credibility and authority of administrators of justice. Shakespeare captures this idea near the end of Measure for Measure when […]

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